• One party may be ordered to make alimony payments in Pennsylvania.Wedding Rings image by MichaelJordan from Fotolia.com
  
  Alimony is when a former spouse pays the other after divorce, either by mutual consent or in accordance with a court order. Unlike alimony laws in other states, alimony payments in Pennsylvania are generally ordered only if the court deems them necessary and may be either rehabilitative or permanent.
  
  

Factors Considered

• When considering whether to award alimony payments, Pennsylvania courts typically consider the earning ability of each party, the age/physical/mental status of each, the duration of the marriage (the longer the better for the person seeking alimony payments), the potential inheritances of each, the contribution of one party to the education/training of the other, the standard of living during marriage, the property contributed by each at the start of the marriage and the assets and liabilities of each party. Additionally, Pennsylvania courts also consider any marital misconduct or abuse that may have existed in a marriage. Though cases differ, in general, if it seems highly unlikely one party will be able to maintain the standard of living established in the marriage on her own, Pennsylvania courts will order one of two kinds of alimony payments.
  
  

Rehabilitative

• When a former spouse is immediately incapable of maintaining the standard of living to which he is accustomed, then he has met the requirements for receiving rehabilitative alimony. However, the assumption with this kind of alimony payment is the party receiving payments will eventually be capable of supporting himself. Thus, these payments are only ordered for a finite amount of time, during which the receiving party is expected to find a way to support himself.
  
  

Permanent

• Permanent alimony is awarded to the receiving party if the courts deem she will never be able to support herself. This kind of award is common in cases of mental or physical disability. Permanent alimony payments are not limited within a certain time frame and generally must continue until either one of the parties dies or until the situation of either party drastically changes.